Emilio Aguinaldo

Revolutionary leader Emilio Aguinaldo 

was born on March 22, 1869, in Kawit, Cavite, Philippines. In 1898, he achieved independence of the Philippines from Spain and was elected the first president of the new republic under the Malolos Congress. He also led the Philippine-American War against U.S. resistance to Philippine independence. Aguinaldo died of a heart attack on February 6, 1964, in Quezon City, Philippines.

Emilio Aguinaldo was born on March 22, 1869, in Kawit, Cavite, Philippines. Nicknamed Miong, Aguinaldo was the seventh of eight children. His parents were of Chinese and Tagalog descent. His father, Carlos, died when Aguinaldo was just nine years old. Widowed, his mother, Trinidad, sent him to attend public school in Manila.

After graduating from the University of Santo Thomas in Manila, Aguinaldo returned home to Kawit, where he developed a growing awareness of Filipino frustration with Spanish colonial rule.

While serving as the head of barter in Manila, he joined the Pilar Lodge chapter of the Freemasonry in 1895. The Freemasonry was a government- and church-banned resistance group. It was through his role as municipal captain of this fraternity that Aguinaldo met Andres Bonifacio, a key figure in the fight to overthrow Spanish rule.

Famous National Heroes History

A national hero of the Philippines is a Filipino who has been recognized as a hero for his or her role in the history of the country. Loosely, the term may refer to all Filipino historical figures recognized as heroes, but the term more strictly refers to those officially designated as such. In 1995 the Philippine National Heroes Committee officially recommended several people for the designation, but this was not acted upon. Currently, no one has ever been officially recognized as a Philippine national hero.

The reformist writer Jose Rizal, today generally considered the greatest Filipino hero and often given as the Philippine national hero, has never been explicitly proclaimed as the (or even a) national hero by the Philippine government. Besides Rizal, the only other Filipinos currently given implied recognition as national heroes are revolutionary Andres Bonifacio and Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. While other historical figures are commemorated in public municipal or provincial holidays, Rizal, Bonifacio and Aquino are commemorated in public nationwide (national) holidays and thus are implied to be national heroes.